Young Jeezy's creating a buzz in the entertainment world

Jay Jenkins was born on October 12, 1977. His stage name is Young Jeezy. He is a popular rapper who grew up in Macon, Georgia, and currently lives in Atlanta. Young Jeezy, who was formerly a member of Boyz N Da Hood from Bad Boy Records, is currently signed with Def Jam Records.

He is often referred to as the “Snowman” by himself and others. This nickname is said to be related to his prior job as a cocaine dealer, though Young Jeezy says that it is just his alter ego. This nickname inspired Jeezy to produce his own t-shirt line with a simple picture of a snowman with an angry face. While the t-shirts have grown in popularity, some high schools have banned the shirts because of the drug connotation undertones.

Young Jeezy has had a couple run-ins with the law. In 2005, Jeezy was charged for not making timely payments of child support for his ex-girlfriend’s child. In March 2006, Jeezy was put under arrest on two counts of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit. However, the charges were later dropped in May. Jeezy also allegedly has ties to a criminal group known as The Black Mafia Family. The FBI is currently investigating the group for organized crime and their relations with another gang, the Crips. Jeezy, though acknowledging his ties to the group, is not known to be under direct investigation.

Jeezy has vocalized his disdain of commercialism and has tried to keep himself from becoming too commercial in order to maintain his street credibility. In June 2005, as part of Boyz N Da Hood, the group’s self-titled album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. A month later, on July 26, 2005, Jeezy would release a solo album under Def Jam entitled, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101. The album would debut at #2 on the charts, selling 172,000 copies in its first week.

Jeezy has appeared in many popular hip-hop songs in 2005 and has collaborated with artists such as Akon, Gucci Mane, Christina Milian, Jay-Z, and Fat Joe. His song with the latter two, “Go Crazy,” popularized Jeezy. Jeezy has his own record label called Corperate Thugz Entertainment (CTE), with several up and coming artists already singed on including himself, Slick Pulla, Lil Will, Bloodraw, and a group that goes by U.S.D.A. Jeezy is reportedly dating R&B singer Keyshia Cole. Jeezy reportedly plans to record a mix tape, Best of Both Hoods, with rapper Juelz Santana.

Freelance writter, covering the music industry